Todd Porter: Boeckman handles tough season with dignity and class

Todd Porter

Sunday

Nov 23, 2008 at 12:01 AMNov 23, 2008 at 11:00 PM

All season long, Brian Hartline watched one of his best friends suffer. He watched Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman, a fifth-year senior who has sacrificed for the Buckeye football team for almost six years, get sent to the bench. Hartline watched Boeckman, a captain, reduced to player-coach role, almost.

All season long, Brian Hartline watched one of his best friends suffer. He watched Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman, a fifth-year senior who has sacrificed for the Buckeye football team for almost six years, get sent to the bench. Hartline watched Boeckman, a captain, reduced to player-coach role, almost.

Then on a bitter cold afternoon at Ohio Stadium against the Buckeyes’ biggest rival, there was a group hug from Boeckman’s teammates and the 105,564 fans, who, at times, weren’t on Boeckman’s side.

What Boeckman did this season for Ohio State -- and really anyone who follows the Buckeyes -- was write a chapter on dignity and honor.

He lost his starting position after Ohio State lost at USC. Boeckman was benched in favor of freshman phenom Terrelle Pryor, and it didn’t really have anything to do with what Boeckman could or couldn’t do. Pryor is what was best for Ohio State’s season, this year, and the next.

With 13:16 left in Saturday’s 42-7 blowout win against Michigan, Boeckman finally exhaled. On third-and-6 from the Michigan 18, he got to throw one last touchdown pass.

One of Boeckman’s favorite targets during last year national title run, Brian Hartline, gave Boeckman a look. Boeckman returned it. They changed the route that was called in the huddle at the line of scrimmage.

Boeckman threw a perfect pass and Hartline caught it. The crowd roared during a moment that seemed part apologetic and part therapeutic. When Jim Tressel made the decision to go with Pryor over Boeckman, it wasn’t a decision that was necessarily easy for the locker room to accept.

“It was tough more from the point that Todd is a great friend and you want to see the best for him,” said Hartline, who asked Boeckman to be a groomsman in his wedding this summer. “To know he goes to the bench, it was tough. What do you say to the guy? ... It’s not the fact that (Brian Robiskie) or my stats were going to suffer through the transition, but it was just from a friendship point.

“To catch that pass from him really felt good. Myself and Todd did a great job last year. Try to put yourself in Todd’s shoes. You can’t do it. I know I wouldn’t have been able to handle the situation as well as he did. He handled it like a champ, textbook really.”

After Hartline caught his second TD pass -- one from Pryor, one from Boeckman -- there was a team celebration in the end zone. Big guard Jim Cordle picked Boeckman up.

“I was worried he was going to drop me,” the 244-pound Boeckman said. “It was a little emotional. It’s been a tough year for me. It felt good to throw that touchdown pass and to know I can still go out there and do some things.”

Then he hit Brian Robiskie on a perfectly thrown 46-yard pass. Boeckman was 3-for-3 for 64 yards.

It is obvious why Pryor became Ohio State’s starting QB. It was a move many expected when the country’s top recruit signed papers to become a Buckeye. Pryor is exciting. He displayed that Saturday when he avoided a sack three times and made one defender miss twice on the same play, and then completed to Dane Sanzenbacher for 35 yards.

After every game, Boeckman was there before the media because he was a team captain. He was humbled by the demotion, but he never let what he was on the field define who he was as a person.

“I’m not gonna lie ... it was tough all year,” Boeckman said. “It’s tough losing your job. If any of you guys lost your job, it would be tough. Those are just things you have to fight through. If it’s one of the worst things that happens to me in my life, I’ll feel pretty good about myself.”

Boeckman never complained. He was one of 28 seniors introduced before the game. Fans gave him one of the loudest ovations in pregame.

Ohio State fans can be irrational when it comes to their quarterback. But they’re also perfectly adjusted to recognize what Boeckman taught us all this season.

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